This invention relates to a process and article for producing finished artwork wherein pigments are selectively applied to a surface using the placement, cutting, removal and replacement of cut sections of an imprinted, transparent film. A previously completed rendering of the same image which is the desired end product of the process can be used as a guide, along with the imprinted film, to perform selective pigment application.
Prior to this time, the artistically inclined hobbyist had a limited number of devices to aid him in the rendering of the image he desired to create. Each of these devices, while of some limited use, has drawbacks, either because it too narrowly restricts the practitioner's own creative skills, or because, to the contrary, it gives him too much leeway and too little guidance in the creation of a finished and professional-like rendering.
The stencil is an example of the former type. Having rigidly pre-cut and non-removable openings, an ordinary stencil pretty much predetermines the outcome; pigment is applied to the work surface through the openings revealed by the stencil; the stencil is removed; and the pre-ordained image is left on the painting surface, with not much initiative, interest or self-satisfaction on the part of the user.
An example of the latter type of device, one which provides too little reining-in for the amateur hobbyist, is the traditional "paint-by-numbers". Unlike the stencil, which has predetermined boundaries, a typical paint-by-numbers kit has the image of the to-be-completed artwork pre-printed on the work surface, with sub-sections outlined and identified by numerals which serve as a key to the colors to be applied to the surface by the user of the kit. The lack of any masking-type function inherent in such a kit allows the practitioner to be sloppy in his application of paint, so that he may cover part of a section coded for one color with the color indicated for the contiguous section. Thus, a sloppy, non-realistic final rendering would be the result.
In addition to the drawbacks already enumerated in these two prior art hobbyist devices, neither gives specific guidance to the amateur hobbyist for the concentration of pigment to be applied in any specific sub-section, nor clues as to the direction of application, nor any other signpost for the accomplishment of subtle coloring effects which contribute to a more realistic looking end-product.
Lastly, while transparent film having an adhesive backing which is reusable, has been available for use in artwork, such film was not available with imprinting of artwork thereon, nor with imprinting of serial numbering or other indicia of how best to utilize the film in the production of a finished work.